Re: Failure of flex brake lines on a 1987 M35A2C

[FloridaAKM]

Re: Failure of flex brake lines on a 1987 M35A2C

Well, you hear the horror stories where guys crank up the trucks & head for the open road, only to find that there are no brakes when the pedal hits the floor @ the first stop sign they come to. Today, I took the Deuce to work to drop off a few items that were sold & no problems or leaks. A few miles down road @ the local fueling stop. I noticed that there was a very small puddle under the right front axle of something fresh, not being able to find a problem, it was home bound time. After getting home & looking closer, the right front axle brake line was leaking brake fluid @ the crimp on the flex line. After cleaning the area & putting 10 ounces of Dot 5 brake fluid in the master cylinder (that was a first clue), the brakes were rechecked with a resounding ooooooohhhhh no. The brake line gave way & the pedal went to the floor in the yard, rather than on the road. The Lord works in mysterious ways for me. So I am going to replace both front brake lines before moving the truck back on the road! I am blessed in many ways like this.

The best replacement lines are from where?

 

[73m819]

REPLACE ALL FIVE, not just the front hub 2

 

[General Mcgregor]

ALWAYS check your brakes if there is an unknown fluid under the truck, even if it's nowhere near the brake lines. I once saw a ton of (what I thought was grease) on the inside of my right front tire, drove home and went to hit the brakes for my driveway and my pedal hit the floor. No harm no foul but it scared the bejeezes out of me! Turned out to be a pinhole leak in the hose. Now i am super paranoid about my brakes all the time, unidentified fluid? Pump your pedal and see if it goes soft, check to see if there is more fluid and repeat.

And NAPA brake lines are working good so far.

 

[FloridaAKM]

I will replace all five before driving the truck again. NAPA, inward bound for flex brake lines & more DOT 5 brake fluid.

 

[rustystud]

Get the Teflon lined Stainless Steel hoses ( PTFE) that Peashooter used to sell. He might still sell them, I would ask first before doing anything else. If he doesn't sell them your nearest hydraulic hose supplier can have it done. What ever you do, don't use the cheap crap coming out of China ! The hoses fall apart just looking at them !

 

[pmramsey]

Peashooter sold me four sets just last month, one deuce and three 5-tons. It takes up to a month but well worth it.

 

[FloridaAKM]

I have access to the stainless steel hoses thru a good vendor @ work. The hose ends are what will have to be figured out as we may not stock them! Thanks for all the heads up on what is the best hose. What's funny is that it is under my nose, but didn't think about it! Getting older is a challenge!

 

[Smokinyoda]

The brake line gave way & the pedal went to the floor in the yard, rather than on the road.

Since your trucks an '87 doesn't it have the dual brake system? I thought that was supposed to keep a single point failure from causing complete loss of brakes.

 

[FloridaAKM]

It does have a dual brake system, but when I was checking to see what was leaking, the pedal was no longer rock solid, but went to the floor. The rear brakes would still stop the truck in an emergency, but the front brakes are red tagged for not mission ready.

 

[bonedoc]

I agree with Rustystud. Get in touch with Peashooter. His lines are top notch and if you can give him the time to have them made and shipped to you he can do it. Well worth the wait.

 

[VPed]

Not knocking Peashooter as he has great stuff, great value. But if he does not have them any more, seek out a hydraulic hose place near you set up for DOT brake fabrication. A place near me made up brand new stainless steel braided hoses using my old ones as a sample. Their swaging dies imprint their DOT cert info onto the fitting at crimping time. Great piece of mind.

 

[bonedoc]

Not knocking Peashooter as he has great stuff, great value. But if he does not have them any more, seek out a hydraulic hose place near you set up for DOT brake fabrication. A place near me made up brand new stainless steel braided hoses using my old ones as a sample. Their swaging dies imprint their DOT cert info onto the fitting at crimping time. Great piece of mind.

You are absolutely correct here VPED. Most good hydraulic shops can make those hoses for you and match up the fittings, etc. Peashooter also has all the info, lengths, thread size, etc on his thread so any member can access and build their own lines if they choose to.

 

[FloridaAKM]

Well, the local NAPA failed to be able to supply a hose from the P#'s gleaned from here. P# 7409330 is the one I found & used. I have to pick up a trailer next week from GovPlanet & my plant is back to working a shutdown with 12 hours a day. None of the other stores were able to come up with a speciman either. I'm looking @ a quick fix just to get the trailer home in the 8 day time! When it rains, it pours!

 

[Tracer]

REPLACE ALL FIVE, not just the front hub 2

Dead on. I'm checking all my break lines in the morning.